Q: How does alcohol affect my nutrition and exercise programs?
A: Alcohol dramatically interferes with your ability to lose fat and it interferes with energy production.
Alcohol is a very concentrated source of calories (7 calories per gram) and, when it enters your blood stream, your liver must reduce or stop its metabolism of fats and carbohydrates and many of its other vital functions in order to process it. This dramatically interferes with your ability to lose fat by causing a buildup of fat in your liver, a decrease in glycogen (master fuel) formation in your liver and muscles, and an interference with niacin, thiamine and B vitamins -- all essential for energy production!
In addition, alcohol will stimulate your appetite (carbohydrate-sensitive people very often crave sweets when they drink), make it much harder to exercise, and act as a diuretic, causing you to lose precious water -- all of which will sabotage your efforts to get lean and muscular.
According to research published by PubMed it is also important to note that Alcohol use is directly linked to the rate of injury sustained in sport events and appears to evoke detrimental effects on exercise performance capacity.
Why Critics of Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates Get It Wrong About HIT Training Mike Mentzer’s Heavy Duty and Dorian Yates’ High-Intensity Training (HIT) built some of the most jaw-dropping physiques in bodybuilding history. Yet, exercise scientists and fitness influencers who couldn’t match their results in a thousand lifetimes still line up to critique their methods. These so-called experts cite studies on high-volume training, conveniently ignoring that these studies often use untrained subjects and lack the intensity Mentzer and Yates demanded. Meanwhile, the comments sections of YouTube videos defending HIT are packed with lifters swearing by its effectiveness, saying, “The proof is in the pudding.” When it comes to real results, no one questions the legends who dominated the stage with efficiency, precision, and unparalleled intensity. Read on to discover why Mentzer and Yates’ methods are still the gold standard for serious lifters.